Google May Have Faked its Duplex AI Demo: Axios

May 18, 2018

A new report from Axios is claiming that Google may have faked their Duplex AI demo, which showed the Google Assistant making an appointment on a user’s behalf.

During the demo, Google CEO Sundar Pichai introduced the demo by saying: “What you’re going to hear is the Google Assistant actually calling a real salon to schedule an appointment for you.” This is exactly what the demo sounded like. Over the course of a minute, the AI calls the salon and books the appointment, with the receptionist seemingly unaware that she is not speaking to a human.

The Assistant’s nearly flawless impersonation of a human was remarkable, making it easy for listeners to not notice that the phone call doesn’t follow the typical script. Axios’ Dan Primack noticed that a few things just didn’t line up.

The receptionist on the phone never identifies themselves or the business by name. The phone call is absent of ambient background noise, with no customers chatting in the background. The receptionist also only asks the Assistant for a first name to complete the booking, however, typically a phone number is also required.

The publication has reached out to Google for an official comment, but the company declined to offer additional information. So far, only a handful of publications have reported this conspiracy theory, despite the demo’s wide reach to millions of YouTubers.

What do you think of Google’s Duplex demo? Do you believe it was real or do you think it was scripted and edited? Let us know in the comments below.